Groom's Wedding Blog from TheManRegistry.com

How to Buy U.S. Groomsmen Gifts if You Live in Canada

When it comes to buying gifts for their groomsmen, our friends north of the border oftentimes find themselves at the short end of the stick. Finding the right gifts isn’t necessarily the problem — there’s some pretty cool stuff out there. The trouble comes when it’s time to ship them to Canada from a U.S. warehouse. While this can be quite frustrating, it’s no reason to give up on that perfect gift you’ve found. With the five tips below, you can easily do it (even on a budget).

Order early: Shipping to Canada from the U.S. often tacks on a few extra days to the shipping time frame, so it really pays to order early. To avoid finding yourself empty handed the day of your wedding, make sure to order early. When ordering personalized or bulk gifts, it’s important to order at least three weeks ahead of your wedding or rehearsal dinner date.

Look for discounts: Coupons are always out there. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Sites like The Man Registry have been known to lend a helping hand with coupon codes for larger orders.

Ask questions: Of course, there’s no such thing as a stupid question. This is especially true when it comes to making an important purchase online. Once you’ve found a website you’d like to buy from, make sure to inquire about shipping rates, time frames and the availability of certain products for international shipment.

Ship to the US: If you live near the U.S.-Canada border or have friends in the States that frequently travel between countries, you can save on shipping costs by shipping your order to a U.S. address. Many websites boast free shipping offers that are only applicable to U.S. orders. Shipping to a U.S. address can also help cut down or eliminate duty fees.

Find a trustworthy site: Also make sure to find a website you can really trust. A simple Google search will reveal that there are plenty of retail sites out there. Before making a purchase over international lines, it’s important to read reviews, determine that the website is secure, and even give the company phone call to make sure there’s a real person on the other end. A reputable company will list their business phone number through their website, so this shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish.

Following these tips will make the buying process much less stressful . If you need a little help getting started finding the right gift, here are three ideas that are all easily shipped to Canada:

Age your own bourbon, wine or rum in this custom cask made from American Oak. You can even have each groomsman’s initials etched into the barrel face. [Shop here]

These stainless steel “biscuits” are designed to look just like a hockey puck — but it’s what’s inside that counts. The flasks will hold 5oz. of booze and are available for all 30 NHL teams. [Shop here]

Pub signs are a great way to celebrate the individuality of each of your friends. With themed-designs ranging from fishing to hockey to man caves, there’s no doubt you’ll find something for everyone. [Shop designs here]

Live in Canada? Are you shopping locally for groomsmen gifts or searching online?

This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Gifting 101.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.